In Life of Pi, the sloth shows that sometimes one must sacrifice reason for faith to survive and explain life. Existence is a chaotic, irrational miracle of God. Consistently during his effort to survive, Pi observes a total disregard to logic in the workings of the world, “all living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways” (Martel 41). Pi keeps a level head in all this madness by abandoning reason for faith and harmony with God, much like Martel’s sloth abandons logic for harmony with its environment. Unlike most species, which survive by skillful use of acute senses, the sloth would be just fine born deaf and blind. The sloth has poor vision, seeing “everything in a Magoo-like blur” (Martel 4). While his sloth can hear, it is “uninterested in sound” (Martel 4). This care-free attitude also shows in the sloth’s speed, most days moving “four to five metres in an hour” (Martel 4). Despite its irrational demeanor towards life, the sloth survives. It survives by being so unusually relaxed, which allow it to be “in perfect harmony with its environment” (Martel 4). Sloths move slow enough to develop a symbiotic relationship with algae by harboring it in their fur; the algae gets somewhere to live and the sloth receives excellent camouflage (EDGE Organization). The sloth, and their perfect harmony with nature, remind Pi of one who has total faith in God, an “upside-down yogis deep in meditation or hermits deep in prayer, wise beings” (Martel 5). Pi recognizes the wisdom in living a life of faith over a life reason; it is how he survives the madness of dispair. Reason falls short of explaining this madness alone. It can explain simple things such as how to acquire food, but “‘be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater’” (Martel 298). Martel connects Pi’s ideas of faith and reason to the sloth by showing even a wild animal can survive through faith. God created the miracle of life with an element of madness unexplainable through logic. One can only wholly accept the irrational world we live in through faith, just like Pi and Martel’s sloth do to survive.
References from Novel
“There are two-toed sloths and there are three-toed sloths” (Martel 3)
“Its only real habit is indolence. It sleeps or rests on average twenty hours a day” (Martel 3)
“The sloth is at its busiest at sunset, using the word busy here in the most relaxed sense” (Martel 3-4)
“it crawls to its next tree at the rate of 250 metres an hour, when motivated, which is 440 times slower than a motivated cheetah. Unmotivated, it covers four to five metres in an hour” (Martel 4)
“The three-toed sloth is not well informed about the outside world” (Martel 4)
“If you come upon a sleeping three-toed sloth in the wild, two or three nudges should suffice to awaken it; it will then look sleepily in every direction but yours“ (Martel 4)
“ the sloth sees everything in a Magoo-like blur” (Martel 4)
“not so much deaf as uninterested in sound” (Martel 4)
“ able to sniff and avoid decayed branches, but Bullock (1968) reported that sloths fall to the ground clinging to decayed branches ‘often’“ (Martel 4)
“How does it survive, you might ask” (Martel 4)
“Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way, away from the notice of
jaguars, ocelots, harpy eagles and anacondas“ (Martel 4)
“the animal blends in with the surrounding moss and foliage … or like nothing at all but part of a tree” (Martel 4)
“The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. ‘A good-natured smile is forever on its lips’“ (Martel 4)
“I felt I was in the presence of upside-down yogis deep in meditation or hermits deep in prayer, wise beings whose intense imaginative lives were beyond the reach of my scientific probing” (Martel 5)
“agnostics who didn't know which way was up, who were in the thrall of reason, that fool's gold for the bright-reminded me of the three-toed sloth; and the three-toed sloth, such a beautiful example of the miracle of life, reminded me of God.” (Martel 5)
Physical Characteristics
Can turn neck 270 degrees
Have either two or three long claws on front paws
23-27 inches long at 17.5-18.5 pounds
Only 25% of body mass is muscle meaning they are unable to shiver
Fur is coated in algae which acts as camouflage
Hair grows upside down for improved water drainage while hanging
Have extremely strong grip to hang for long duration
In Life of Pi, the sloth shows that sometimes one must sacrifice reason for faith to survive and explain life. Existence is a chaotic, irrational miracle of God. Consistently during his effort to survive, Pi observes a total disregard to logic in the workings of the world, “all living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways” (Martel 41). Pi keeps a level head in all this madness by abandoning reason for faith and harmony with God, much like Martel’s sloth abandons logic for harmony with its environment. Unlike most species, which survive by skillful use of acute senses, the sloth would be just fine born deaf and blind. The sloth has poor vision, seeing “everything in a Magoo-like blur” (Martel 4). While his sloth can hear, it is “uninterested in sound” (Martel 4). This care-free attitude also shows in the sloth’s speed, most days moving “four to five metres in an hour” (Martel 4). Despite its irrational demeanor towards life, the sloth survives. It survives by being so unusually relaxed, which allow it to be “in perfect harmony with its environment” (Martel 4). Sloths move slow enough to develop a symbiotic relationship with algae by harboring it in their fur; the algae gets somewhere to live and the sloth receives excellent camouflage (EDGE Organization). The sloth, and their perfect harmony with nature, remind Pi of one who has total faith in God, an “upside-down yogis deep in meditation or hermits deep in prayer, wise beings” (Martel 5). Pi recognizes the wisdom in living a life of faith over a life reason; it is how he survives the madness of dispair. Reason falls short of explaining this madness alone. It can explain simple things such as how to acquire food, but “‘be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater’” (Martel 298). Martel connects Pi’s ideas of faith and reason to the sloth by showing even a wild animal can survive through faith. God created the miracle of life with an element of madness unexplainable through logic. One can only wholly accept the irrational world we live in through faith, just like Pi and Martel’s sloth do to survive.
References from Novel
Physical Characteristics
Common Characteristics/Habits/Traits
Habitat
Common Symbolism